The signs of the season are all around us. It is that time of year when people put on masks and costumes and pretend to be something they are not. They roam our streets seeking offerings of approval from those who live in the region. They promise tricks if they are not given the treats they desire. No, I’m not talking about Halloween and the many children who will parade around our community in the days ahead. The specter to which I am referring is election season.
Many of us feel like political refugees and outcasts, with few, if any, candidates that truly represent our values, priorities, and convictions.
Election season is a dreaded time for many these days. Few things send chills running up and down spines and cause stomachs to turn like having to navigate the current political landscape. Many of us feel like political refugees and outcasts, with few, if any, candidates that truly represent our values, priorities, and convictions. I confess that I count myself decidedly among that number.
Unfortunately, fear does seem to be one of the strongest motivators in the modern political arena. Both major political parties, in partnership with the media at large, have become experts at stirring public paranoia and fomenting fear in the population. Each party would have us believe that the other is the greatest danger to our freedoms. Each party would also have us believe that they and their candidates are the only hope for our freedoms and our future. One party would have us believe the candidate for the other is the second coming of Hitler; the other party perpetually claims that the candidate for the other is probably the anti-Christ. Consequently, we fear that if we don’t support the right side, we will be, at a minimum, complicit in the beginning of the end of the world as we know it. What are we to do as faithful followers of Jesus and concerned citizens of these United States of America? This question is a cause of great trepidation and anxiety.
From this pastor’s perspective, neither political party can claim a clear moral advantage over the other on every issue. There are valid biblical arguments that support positions held by candidates on both sides. There are also valid biblical concerns that should make us wary of supporting candidates from both major parties. Though some of us would struggle to admit it, both parties have their positives and negatives. There is no clear biblical imperative to support one political party or another, nor is there a biblical mandate to vote for anybody at all. Ultimately, each of us must search out the Scriptures for ourselves (2 Timothy 2:15), pray for divine guidance and wisdom (James 1:5), diligently discern based on the information available to us about various candidates and issues, and make the best decision we can based upon how God stirs within our hearts and souls (Proverbs 3:5-6).
God is still sovereign; He always has been and always will be in control. He will still be firmly established on the throne of the universe regardless of who we elect into office in the days ahead.
It is the spookiest of seasons and the scariest day of the year is almost upon us. As that day approaches, everyone needs to take a breath and remember the most important truths. God is still sovereign; He always has been and always will be in control. He will still be firmly established on the throne of the universe regardless of who we elect into office in the days ahead. As the Psalmist wrote so long ago, “God is the King of all the earth; sing to Him a psalm of praise. God reigns over the nations; God is seated on His holy throne.” In fact, whether we understand or approve, it is God who establishes the various governments of the world, including our own. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 13:1, “…there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” No political party or figure in history has been able to stop the plans of God, and we have no reason to believe that this election cycle is going to change that reality. Vote (or don’t vote) as the Lord leads and have no fear.
